Dakota Access Pipeline Has Been Leaking Oil, And It's Not Even Operational Yet

There has already been a leak in the Dakota Access Pipeline despite not being ready to be operated.

In the month of March, two small leaks occurred along with other leaks in April. The operators have reassured that every leak has been cleaned up and fixed, despite those who are against the pipeline say small leaks prove it isn’t a matter of if, but when, a larger spill happens.

The pipeline isn’t scheduled to be running until June, even though their have been many leaks in parts of the project. In April, 320 liters or 84 gallons of crude oil had spilled in South Dakota, where mass protests supporting the Standing Rock Sioux tribe happened to protest and block the progress of the pipeline.

It was reported that two leaks occurred in North Dakota, one near a pipeline terminal in Hartford City that dumped 84 gallons (320 liters), and the other in Mercer County that spilled 20 gallons (75 liters).

Those leaks were recognized quickly, closed off, and stopped, along with any contaminated soil and snow being quickly cleaned up. Both these spills were not reported to the government or contractors, had received no media coverage, and was only posted on the federal website regulating environment safety. There’s a list of all oil spills compiled by the health department, but they aren’t ever told to the public unless its over 150 barrels in size, harm waterways, and pose a health risk to the general public. This means any and all small oil spills will never be mentioned to the media or the people.

The Dakota Access Pipeline has gathered so much controversy, and is estimated to cost around $3.8 billion dollars. This project is a 1,200 mile (1,900 kilometers) that starts from the fields within North Dakota to a refinery located in Illinois.

Once the media caught wind of the protests from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe (who oppose the pipeline because it runs right into their sacred land and only source of water), support began to increase as more people became aware. Despite their win last year with Obama’s decision to halt the pipeline, President Trump issued an executive order permitting the project to go forward.

A predominant issue in the pipeline project is the threat of oil leaks and polluting clean water sources that are critical for survival.

“They keep telling everybody that it is state of the art, that leaks won’t happen, that nothing can go wrong,” says Jan Hasselman, an attorney representing the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, to the Guardian last month.

“It’s always been false. They haven’t even turned the thing on and it’s shown to be false.

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Dakota Access Pipeline Has Been Leaking Oil, And It's Not Even Operational Yet
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